Our Member Services contact centre will be closed from 12pm Wednesday 18 December and re-open 8am Thursday 19 December. During this time, you can leave a message with your contact details and we will call you back.
Super is designed as a long-term investment to give you an income in retirement.
You can access your super when:
Access to the government Age Pension
There are different rules for accessing the government Age Pension. If eligible you may be able to access full or partial Age Pension to help supplement you super.
> Super and the Age Pension
You may be eligible access your superannuation early under severe financial hardship, on compassionate grounds or in other circumstances.
There certain government conditions you must meet before you can access your superannuation early.
You can apply if:
If you are under 60 years of age you can apply for one single payment in any 12-month period. The minimum payment is $1,000 (unless your balance is less than this amount) and the maximum payment is $10,000 (before tax).
Yes. A severe financial hardship withdrawal is paid and taxed as a normal super lump sum payment. If you are under 60 years old this is generally between 17% and 22%. If you are over 60, you will not be taxed.
There are different options available to you about accessing your super.
The options are:
You will need to consider how accessing your super may impact your or your partners Commonwealth income support payments.
Before making a claim it’s important to consider the following:
Read our Accessing Super early fact sheet for more information.
A super withdrawal on compassionate grounds must be for unpaid expenses that you have no other means of paying, including needing money for:
The amount you can withdraw is limited to what you’d reasonably need to cover these expenses.
It’s important to note that this type of withdrawal is assessed and administered by the ATO, not by First Super. We can help with any questions you might have, but we do not determine your eligibility or the amount you may be paid.
For more information read our Accessing Super Early fact sheet. The ATO website has more details on Early access on compassionate grounds, including how to apply.
The Government introduced the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme to help Australians save for their first home using money added to their super account.
You can make extra voluntary contributions into your super account up to $15,000 per financial year and $50,000 in total. You can then withdraw that money (plus a deemed rate of return and minus any applicable tax) as a deposit on your first home. The advantage is you may be able to save faster.
To be eligible for release of the FHSS scheme you must:
If you are from New Zealand, you may be able to use your KiwiSaver towards purchasing your first home in Australia, even if you already own a property in New Zealand.
If you’ve previously owned property in Australia, and experienced financial hardship that resulted in a loss of ownership of a property (e.g. bankruptcy, natural disaster), you may still be eligible to participate in the FHSS scheme (subject to approval from the ATO). You can apply through myGov under the financial hardship provision or use a First home super saver scheme – hardship application form.
Resources
> First Super’s First Home Super Saver scheme fact sheet
> ATO’s First home super saver scheme
The ATO is responsible for administering this scheme, so you will need to ensure you meet all of their eligibility conditions, which are subject to change.
Retirement savings you transfer to Australia from New Zealand are held in your super account in two parts:
You can access the Australian-sourced component, when you have reached age 60 and fully retired. Or reach age 65 regardless of whether you are still working or not.
To access the New Zealand-sourced component of your super account, you will need to reach the New Zealand age of retirement (currently 65).
Find out more about KiwiSaver transfers.
The ATO website has more details on Access due to a terminal medical condition.
To request access to your super, contact our Member Services Team directly on 1300 360 988 or email.
You can claim a DASP if the following apply:
Important: Super you access as a DASP will be taxed at 65% if you’ve been paid any of that super while on a subclass 417 or 462 visa or an associated bridging visa. Otherwise, tax applied is at a lower rate.
If you’re eligible you can submit an application via:
Australian and New Zealand citizens, and permanent residents of Australia aren’t eligible for the DASP.
Australian citizens and permanent residents heading overseas remain subject to the same rules as those living in Australia, even if you leave Australia permanently. You cannot access your super until you reach your preservation age and retire or satisfy another condition of release.
Australians and New Zealanders permanently moving to New Zealand may transfer their super and KiwiSaver component to a KiwiSaver Fund.
> Transfers to a KiwiSaver scheme
For more information contact our Member Services Team on 1300 360 988 or email.
1A Commonwealth Government income support payment is an income support supplement, service pension, social security benefit or social security pension.
2Immediate family living expenses include household expenses, rent and rental bond, child support and child care, debts, car repair bills, health costs and veterinary bills and school fees.
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